garroyo130

I may be alone here but handle bearings are a nice upgrade from bushings IMO. Outside of that, and levelwind bearings (which didnt make a lick of difference) the only thing ive changed on my reels is I swapped the dial on my fuego ct with a tatula ct colorful dial so that i can actually see it in low light.

Whats wrong with the budget setup? I would upgrade the rod first. If you aren't losing fish with the current reel's drag, there really isn't much to be gained there. But if after upgrading the rod you decide you want a lighter reel or a bigger spool then you can take it in that direction.

Thanks for the info. Yeah theres much deeper water here as well but the fact that these fish had very little fight in them beyond the initial headshake made me wonder. The fish were almost in a trance when lipped so I wondered if it had to do with the depth, high volume of water rushing through their gills, or something else.

Are you trying to get sponsorship for income or to get free stuff? If for income, you can always reach out to the lowest denominator and push some terrible product that you know is terrible but get paid for it (probably poorly paid). Outside of that, do something noteworthy (win tournaments, get a social media following, etc.) and reach out to companies. If to get free stuff, try to build a name for yourself online. The easiest way to do this is probably by reviewing products since this wont really be dependent on getting a following online or accomplishing anything. Once you have a well established and documented portfolio as an amateur reviewer, reach out to companies.

Went out this morning and the Academy CRD + did well. Caught some decent fish but was wondering what best practice (if any) is for releasing fish caught for deep water (15ft +) when you do not have a livewell. Also to keep the crankbait from digging in too much i went to 15lb test which allowed me to bring in the bass fairly quickly. Should I avoid reeling them in like I would in shallower water?

7 identical rooms full of tackle?!?! ... you have problems, man

Mepps Black Fury #3 (yellow/black, dressed) Mepps Comet #4 (silver)

Pflueger and Okuma for spinning and daiwa and Shimano for baitcasting for me

both are more better

Do you fish all sizes on 12lb? I tried fishing 1/2 oz'ers but was losing too many so i stepped up to 15lb for 1/2 and above.

^ fronts get upgraded to one size larger - short shank EWG reds on lipless for me and to short shank EWG black on squarebills (the color is a personal thing)

Good question So when tuning i usually run them as fast as I can crank on a 7:1 reel. All lipless crankbaits would run on the side at that speed but at a regular reel speed, only the Red Eyes would. Even at a slow speed, the Red Eyes seemed favor a side even if only by a little. As far as hooks are concerned, I change them on all except those that will be yo yo'd over rock as I'd rather bend a hook out than lose a lure. This retrieve is where I have found the Red Eyes to be much better than others for me.

I actually spent more time than I should have this morning checking this and it was interesting to see that certain Red Eye Shads would track to a specific side. When fished straight, they would always go either left or right but if the rod was moved to the opposite direction, the lure would also shift sides. I tested with 5 Red Eyes total. Some that began very far off to one side I was able to get more centered but not by adjusting the line tie but the hook hanger instead. I don't believe wear makes a difference as they varied from 3yrs old to brand new. Of the Red Eyes I tested all ran tilted to one side. The rest of the lipless: Rat l Trap, Xcalibur, Rapala all seemed to have a more upright movement.

Plenty of info available on tuning but lipless crankbaits seem to never be mentioned. Is the trajectory of lipless crankbaits determined by other factors vs line tie or does the line tie affect how it runs? When I was out this morning i noticed that some tend to want to go sideways (red eye shad) while others prefer to run upright (rattl trap) which made me wonder if lipless lures get tuned.

Theyre gonna push whatever sells its the same reason we have 4 SLXs

I thought the regulation was 2 wet lines at a time?

Good morning, Went out to the lake this morning to tune lures and while I had heard about "hunting" action in crankbaits, I had never experienced it ... until I threw this lure out. The action is very different and the lure will track straight then jerk left or right then return to its original trajectory. I cant vouch for its fish catching ability since I haven't fished it much, but I am curious as to who makes this crankbait. I've had the crankbait for around 6 years but don't remember where it was purchased/obtained. The crankbait has rattles and the hooks are not original to the bait. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

Rod would be the first thing I would look to. When i first started using baitcasting gear i couldnt figure out why i wasnt getting the distance i though i should with crankbaits. I quickly realized the rod wasnt properly loading.

**Update** Highly recommend this book. It is much much more comprehensive than anything I've read on crankbait fishing and goes into great detail. Ol' Joe probably should have spent more money getting someone to proofread the book but despite the sometimes basic grammar mistakes this is one of the best fishing books. Thanks for the recommendation @Bassjam2000

I can see that but if you look at the angle of the pull on a spinning reel, unless the first guide on the rod is very small or close to the blank, the pull shouldn't really result in flex. The pull would be pulling from the spool upward (towards the drag knob), not inward (towards the blank). Maybe im just overthinking it ...

Im curious as to what the flex feel's like or how you know its present. I've felt flex on a baitcaster before but I frequently fish an old bill dance as-cheap-as-it-gets spinning reel gifted to me by my grandmother and I have never felt flex to any degree.

Are paint finishes typically that rough? That bottom picture ...

^ Unless youre fishing it in the salt it should be good to go. If you want to gain a small amount of casting distance, flush them and add 1 drop of a quality bearing oil.

Ill add that I love Yo-Zuri up to 12lb test but at 15lb test but it gets pretty wiry. Whatever you decide make sure to get some KVD Line and lure conditioner as it helps immensely

White storm Wildeye Swim Shad. I threw it out just for the heck of it before leaving the lake since I didn't have much confidence in it. Immediately something snatched it up and began peeling line. Whatever it was I couldn't gain an inch on it. It took me to rocks where I broke off. It was most likely a turtle that went to bottom but I can't help but wonder ...